You Can't Escape Fate
by mbravesgirl7
Summary: Levy McGarden is searching for a book to complete her most beloved series when she meets a man from her past. She is taken back in awe and shock. She just swore off dragon slayers, but this one is going to be hard to resist. But does fate and her past have other plans? This story takes place in the future a few years after Fairy Tail is reformed. (Sting X Levy, GaLe, MirLax, NaLu)
1. Fateful Meeting

Hi there! I am Levy McGarden, and I want to tell you a story about a mysterious, blonde dragon slayer and the product of fate.

On this fateful day, I've spend the past five hours searching for the last book to complete my collection. So what I just said was true, but I've been hiding from my guild mates after Gajeel and I broke up. I understand he is a dragon, but possessiveness is not attractive in every situation. It would also be nice to be asked on date rather than told we were going on dates. Needless to say, I have met my limits with dragon slayers. _Could I swear off men completely now?_ Mirajane would be upset if I did that, but the demon can match make Gajeel as a little payback for me giving her love advice about Laxus.

A smile escaped my lips as I thought about Mira's surprised expression as I causal mentioned Laxus' crush on her. I should know - he was a brother to me after all. He has also been extremely helpful on keeping my dark stalker away so I figured nudging them would be the least that I could do. Gajeel was starting to make Juvia look like an amateur. A regrettable sigh escaped my lips. _If he had only been kinder and more considerate, then maybe this would have ended differently._

I sneezed as I brushed some dust from the top shelf. Filled with excitement, I started to jump up and down to celebrate only to just to remember I was actually standing on a ladder. A little squeal escaped my lips. Nervousness flowed through my body as I leaned on the bookshelf, but I was vertical challenged. Sometimes being short had its benefits, but right now, my shortness was a disadvantage. So I stepped on to the top of the ladder and the tallest shelf like an idiot to reach for the book. Unfortunately, I just had to have the book. You don't understand! I really did have to have this new _Dragon Queen_ book, and I found a copy that someone stashed at the top.

Feeling overjoyed, I placed on foot on the shelf next to the ladder. Big mistake there! I may be small, but old book shelves do not like to be leaned on so I fell. Bracing myself for the impact of the hardwood floor and numerous piles of books, I curled up into the smallest ball possible. But nothing happened, well except for falling into a strong set of male arms. Heat crept into my face before I looked at my savior.

I glanced up to see sky blue eyes and spiky blonde hair. The smile that greeted me reminded me of the description of when Greek gods came among the humans. A blushed covered my face as I realized I was staring. He held on to me for a few minutes longer staring down at my face. Then it hit me! I knew this man. _Sting Eucliffe, Sabertooth's Master._

Oh god, what have I done? Why, oh why, did it have to be a dragon slayer? Fear entered my eyes as his face crept closer to mine. Would he kiss me – a girl he just met? Wait! What am I saying? I swore off dragon slayers, and I am attracted to the first one whose arms I fell into.

No, he wouldn't kiss a girl he just met! I'm not that kind of girl either, but I was willing to let him. I could sense so much surging through his arms. Then to my surprise, he asked a simple question. "Are you okay?"

His closes was only to inspect if any damage occurred to my face. Shock register on my face as a smile graced his. "At a loss for words, beautiful?"

"I…huh, thank you for saving me." I managed to stutter. I felt my face turn ten shades of red as he graceful placed me on the floor.

"It's not every day that I get to be a hero." He said smugly.

"If I remember correctly, you are Sabertooth's master, correct?"

"Ah, so you do know who I am. I was wondering if you remembered me."

I nudged the books surrounding me with my toe. "How can I not remember one of the 7 dragon slayers?" I looked away shyly. Then I mumbled out my next few sentence lightning fast. "My name is Levy. I'm from Fairy Tail. Our guilds have worked on some job quest together, and I saw you fight in the Grand Magic Games a few years ago so it's kind of hard not to know who you are, Sting Eucliffe."

His grinned widen. "I also know of you, Levy McGarden. You are actually the reason I came to Magnolia." My brows drew together in a frown. "Don't worry, I am not here to start a war with your iron dragon. I come to seek your expertise. When I visited Fairy Tail, MiraJane told me where I could find you. I just guess luck was on your side when you fell into my arms. I call that perfect timing, shortstuff." Sting said with a wink.

At this moment, I wasn't sure if I wanted to strangle him, drop an iron bar over his head, or for some awful reason kiss him. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure the later was the effect of being near such a handsome man and his exposed abs. Honestly I swear this is not normal for me to even be thinking like this! Generally, I am all business, but this dragon slayer did something to me. It was like something inside me called to him and vise versa. I could see the effect of our closeness in his eyes.

I wrapped a finger around the tie of my head band. It's a nervous habit that I have. "Uhm, Master Sting, you were miss informed about one thing. I am not with Gajeel anymore since we have parted ways. You should not have any issues from our guild's dragon slayers unless you plan to cause trouble. Laxus and Natsu are like brothers to me. If I give them the go-ahead, they will make sure all the others cooperate with you."

He grabbed my hand at my side. "And will you cooperate with me without having to ask their permission, Levy?" I nodded at him because my throat felt like sandpaper. This man looked like the same Sting from a few years ago, but he was not the same person. He was more mature, sure of himself in an attractive yet not cocky way. I was also impressed by his ability to ask me my opinion rather than being told. If I didn't watch myself, I was going to be falling for yet another dragon slayer. But I couldn't shake a feeling of being watched.

 **I would like to note that the plotline is mine, but the characters and everything else wonderful world of Fiora is** **Fairy Tail** **'s creator Hiro Mashima. This is my first fanficiton. I find the Levy X Sting pairing unusual and fascinating. Please continue to look for updates!**


	2. Dragon Slayer vs Bookworm

I cleared my throat in hopes to find my voice. Maybe we needed fresh air? And people… Definitely people. I was scared of the chemistry between us, and I was counting on other people to keep me from doing anything too stupid.

"May I buy you lunch, Master Sting? I feel like a thank you is in order for saving me. Without you, I have a feeling that a concussion and some broke bones would have been in my future."

"Since we are going to be working closely together, Ms. McGarden, I would like you to simply call me Sting." He brought my hand that he still held up to his lips. I looked like a total dork as my mouth opened and closed like a guppy fish.

When I found my composer, or what was left of it, I told him that I would buy my books, then we could go find some lunch. Sting just stood there smiling at me. Yet, I noticed the tension in his shoulders. He sensed something. Could this be the same presence that I noticed before?

"Do you need any assistance carrying all your books to the counter?" He asked in a cheery voice; yet, he was straining to hear for something learning in the shadows. I heard a gruff voice, and I notice Lector was hiding behind Sting. Apparently the little exceed wasn't as social as his owner.

I leaned around the side of Sting to speak to the exceed. "Well, hello there, Lector! What brings you out on such a fine day? Were you helping Sting search for me?"

The exceed turned to look at me, and I could see an ice cream cone in his hand. "He promised me ice cream! Sting is the best!" With his short answer, Lector returned to looking at a small stack of books and eating his ice cream while his partner laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry…" I held up my hand to stop Sting from continuing.

"You really should feed him more treats!" I said as I turned to head to the register. I felt brave so I threw a smile and a wink over my shoulder. Who was this new Levy, and where did she come from?

I could hear light laughter follow me all the way to the register. I tried to contain a smile at our banter, but I couldn't help it. For some reason, this dragon slayer brought out the fun side of me, which it had been sorely missing sing my break up with Gajeel. I silently wished for him to find happiness and to move on.

Surprisingly, Lucy was working at the register today. She filled in for Lisanna when Team Natsu wasn't very busy. "Lucy!"

"Hey, Levy! Did you find anything good?" Lucy asked eagerly.

"I found the latest installment of the _Dragon Queen s_ eries and some old dragon slayer books the guild has been looking for! You know we have to keep our collection up-to-date!"

"I was looking for that book earlier! Where did you find it?"

"A sneaky customer hid it on the top shelf, but I found it!" I said with a smirk.

"Who were you talking too while ago? I thought I was the only one in the store."

"Sting." I blushed as I said his name. "Apparently, Sabertooth had need of me so he tracked me down. It's a good thing too. He saved me from breaking anything." Lucy raised her eyebrow at me. I could tell she was just begging for more information.

"Well, are you going to continue the story?"

"I know just about as much as you do, Lucy. I offered to take him to lunch as a thank you so I best get a move on! It's never smart to make dragon slayers angry." My brows drew together as I remembered past arguments between Gajeel and I. He always thought my first priority should have been him. It's sad really. When you love them, but you have to let them go. I shook my head out of unwanted memories.

"You know not all the dragon slayers are bad."

"I know Natsu and Laxus are amazing. Granted Laxus did have a psychotic spell, but that's done and completely over with now. Hell, Laxus is Guild Master with Mirajane being basically the Mother Guild Master."

"Does this mean that you are ready to go out with a dragon slayer again?" She asked hopefully.

"Why do you think I am willing to have lunch with the hottie back there?" I replied.

"Do you mean the one behind you?" Sting's voice drifted into my ear. Lucy was grinning from ear to ear while I was the color of Ezra's shirt. I wished that I could crawl under a table right now.

Silently, I paid for my books and turned to walk off, but Sting would not let me get away that easily. I could hear Lucy in the background shouting about good luck. But after my previous embarrassment, I doubt that I needed it.

"And just where do you think you're going, Ms. Levy?"

I was still red from my hairline to my toes. "To hide under a rock." I muttered. Unfortunately for me, dragon slayers have a keen sense of hearing.

"You want to hide under a rock for thinking that I'm a hottie?"

I turned around to face him, but the only thing keeping us a breathe width's apart was my books. "I actually said that you were a hottie. I never ever expected you to hear it, especially since I have to work with you. How are you supposed to take me seriously if I say crap like that? I sound like a freaking teenager?" My voice became faster and more frantic as I continued.

Sting attempted to lift the books out of my arms, and I finally relented after a few minutes of our book tug-of-war. He could hold all my books with just one arm. His free hand tilted up my face so that I had to look at him. "One, every male likes to receive complements and overhear beautiful women saying them." He said with a dazzling smile. His long canines seemed to be even longer the broader his smile became. "Two, I believe you owe me that lunch date still, so you can't go run and hide under a rock."

"You still want to have lunch and work with me?" I asked. I was still in shock form his reply. No one has ever been that forward with me before.

"Darling, I would love to do more than work with you, but you seem to be skittish of dragon slayers. For now, how about we make this a work lunch so you can get to know me and why Sabertooth needs the brilliant Levy McGarden. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, Sting. I believe I can handle that."

For some reason, I felt like I was making a deal with the devil. He was a handsome devil, but needless to say our next adventure didn't go according to plan.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own the plot line.**


	3. Lunch: Hell-in-a-Hand-Basket

As we began to head towards the new Starlight Café for lunch, I noticed a certain red cat was missing. "Sting, where did Lector disappear to?"His laugh was like music to my ears as I looked around for the missing exceed.

"You left so fast that you passed Rogue and Frosch. They were waiting for use outside the bookstore so I left Lector with them. Rogue promised them fish from the hotel's fancy seafood menu so they were all for heading back. I promised Rogue that I would meet up with him later tonight, but I told him that we still had some business to discuss."

"I hope you didn't tell him not to wait up or you'll be sorely disappointed." _Wait, did that just leave my mouth?_

Sting took the barb all in good humor. He just grabbed my hand and guided me towards our destination. He leaned into my ear and whispered. "I guess you'll just have to see, my little blunette."

 _Did he just call me his? No. He couldn't have, could he? Well Levy, you do know when dragons find their mates all bets are off. So is Sting just being a party boy, or all this chemistry a result of the mating process?_ I gulped as I turned red. He noticed my color change, and I just blamed it on the warm afternoon. We continued to walk in comfortable silence to the café.

Sometimes being a mage in the big city of Magnolia was unbearable, and other times, like now, it had its perks. My friend, Wendy, was working today. She recognized Sting immediately and started to lead us to a back room. I quirked an eyebrow at my blonde friend, and he just smiled apologetically. I must have hit my head hard to believe all of Sting's bull about needing help, but that didn't explain Rogue's present. The men hardly traveled without one another; yet, Rogue was willing to leave Sting with me. Something wasn't adding up, and it was about time that I got to the bottom of the equation.

As I eyed him suspiciously, I sat down across the table from him as Wendy gave us our menus. "What would you like to drink?" She asked.

Sting looked to me for guidance, but I shrugged at him. "Two beers and two waters please, Wendy." She nervously shot me a glance to see if I was fine with his order. I gave her a nod as she sent a grateful smile my way. "I would also like steak medium rare."

She turned to look at me for an answer. "I would like the Lo Mein Special, Wendy. Thank you." After taking our orders, Wendy retreated to the back while Sting and I steamed up the back room with lingering glazes.

Finally, I found a little of my courage after enduring several flirty glances from Sting. "Was you plan get me drunk, and ask me to solve whatever problem that you needed me for?"

"I highly doubt that you would fall for the oldest trick in the book. I have your number, Levy." He watched me gulp down some of the water Wendy brought. Sting had this cunning, predatory look in his eye. _Yep, I am in big trouble!_ He sweetly continued, "I plan to ply you with good food, dazzling company, and a mystery."

 _So this wasn't what I expected from him! What happened to the ladies' man of Sabertooth? He was in front of me, but it wasn't him because he only had eyes for me when a few scantily dressed mages walked by. I for one can't understand this latest fashion crazy of showing all your assets! It's ridiculous… but it does seem to work. Oh, well brain power attracts the better man anyway… unless you're Mirajane or Lucy._ A sigh escaped my lips, which only drew my blonde dragon slayer's attention. For some reason, he was utterly fascinated with my lips. I began to chew on my bottom lip just to see if his eyes would dart there. Yes, I was successful. I guess I really have learned part of the art of flirting. _Yay me!_

"You're playing with fire, Levy, so quit chewing on your lip unless you want me to come over there and kiss you senseless." I stared at Sting in utter confusion. "I know you did that little lip trick on purpose."

Just about as I was about to make a smartass retort , Wendy brought our food. _Save by the tiny dragon slayer, Sting._ "Thank very, Wendy! Everything looks delicious!"

"I'm glad! I hope you enjoy your food. I'll leave you to your date!' She said with a smile. I wanted to call out that this wasn't a date, but I had a feeling Sting considered this a date. So I let her comment slide as she retreated to the back.

I watched as Sting cut up his steak. I was curious of how it tasted, but I wasn't willing to ask for a bit. I heard a sound from behind me only to see a shadow move or at least I thought I saw a shadow move. Maybe the beer was having an effect on me after all since I was so small. I turned forward to see a piece of meat in front of my face. "Here, Levy! Try this! It's amazing! The cook seasoned it just right, and the meat is tender."

As I began to take a bite of the steak, the fork suddenly disappeared. A shadow crossed the table, and I knew that I wasn't dreaming then. Gajeel sprang forth from mysterious shadow. _My god, I should have known that he would try something like this! I haven't dated since breaking up with him, and I guess lunch with Sting was just too much to handle._

"Oi! Sting, what do you think you're doing with my mate?" Gajeel said as he approached Sting. Suddenly, Sting jumped up and slung Gajeel into the wall.

"Listen good, and listen careful, Gajeel, because I am only making this threat once. Leave Levy alone. She has moved on. She is not your mate anymore. Let her make her own desecions about who she wants to be with. Now, I suggest you leave this place. I do not want to fight you, but I will for her sake."

I watched open mouthed as the two dragon slayers had a heart to heart. Gajeel was trying to hit Sting with his iron fist and his roar, but Sting was too powerful. All Sting did was hold him in place as light radiated around Gajeel immobilizing him and sealing his mouth. He's learned quit a few new tricks since becoming the master of Sabertooth. The other feeling that I couldn't quite get over was Sting's defense of me. Tears stung my eyes as I watched my new friend.

Glancing behind him, Sting asked me a question. "Levy, is there anything that you would like to add? I know he's big, but I won't let him harm you anymore."

A simple sigh escaped my lips as I nodded at Sting. I walked up to face my ex-boyfriend. "Why are you stalking me, Gajeel?"

He growled as he struggled with Sting's bonds of light. "Shrimp, you're asking me that when you are lowering yourself by dating that punk?"

"Gajeel, if you weren't so freaking hardheaded then you would have heard that Sabertooth needed me for a job. And if you were around earlier, you would have saw Sting rescued me!" I shouted.

"I did see him save you. I also saw you fall all over the pretty boy here."

"So you were the shadows I saw out of the corner of my eyes? This is even a new low for you!" I paused for a moment and shook my head. I would not be held responsible for his actions. "You could be happy! Why won't you let Mirajane be a matchmaker for you?"

His brows darkened. "I still want you, Levy."

"No. you want to be controlling, and I refuse to be controlled by you, fear, or anything else that will stand in my way. I have finally become happy with the person that I am. Overall, I am still the smart bookworm, but myself worth and confidence has increased tremendously. Now, please go back to the guild, and leave us in peace."

After an intense stare off, Gajeel conceded. "I'll return to the guild hall. But as him what he wanted to really talk to you about because we are not through Levy McGarden – not by a long shot." He said with a sneer.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own the plot line**


	4. Deal With the Devil

Gajeel stormed out of the restaurant with a wake of furry in his path. I couldn't help shaking that he did acted childishly because Sting won the battle round for me. Sure I could have dropped a load of stone on Gajeel's head, but he would probably have dodged it. Then he would throw me over his shoulder like old times and take me somewhere away from the other guild members.

Sting placed his hands on my shoulders slightly shaking me to return to the land of the living. I was so lost in my head fog that I forgot about the blonde dragon slayer for a moment. _And let me tell you, forgetting about Sting was mistake._ When I finally snapped out of it, he was leaning down staring into my eyes.

"Ah, there you are. Can you tell me where you drifted off to in that lovely brain of yours?"

I swallowed as I noticed his hands starting to rub my arms in comfort, but it was having the opposite effect. I was becoming extremely over-heated. "Can we sit down?" I asked quietly. I hoped some water and space.

After I inhaled a large glass of water, I asked Sting the burning question lying in the back of my mind. "One thing is bothering me though. What was Gajeel talking about being the real reason that you are here? He seemed to think that you had an alternative motive."

Sting sighed as he looked at me from across the table. Apparently, the confident master of Sabertooth was worried about what I would think of him. This really was a nice change from Gajeel's old habits.

"I requested you because you are the best mage for the job. You are used to dragon slayers. You're an encyclopedia on you from our habits, temperaments, powers, and even our weaknesses." He paused for a minute with a smirk growing on his face. "You're queen of knowledge, my little Fairy Tail bookworm. I wouldn't have found a better person to help me understand the ancient book that you retrieved from the bookstore today."

I was in shock needless to say. He plied me with complements, but here was the real mystery. What was so special about the book?

"Why would you need the book I bought today? Did you hope to steal it from me later?"

"We have a similar book – volume 2. But no one in my guild could read the writing even Rufus. I figured since you were so familiar with dragon slayers and languages than you would be the best option. I've heard Freed's smart, but he's not you, Levy."

"What do you expect me to do, Sting?"

"I want to hire you to translate everything into English for both guilds. This would be a joint effort, and you'll have whatever you need to complete it."

"If you're willing to do that, then this book is important to you…"

"To be honest with you, I think the book holds to key to address how a few of us dragon slayers are feeling at the moment, especially the males. Too many of us feel a searching in our souls, but we can't pin point the cause. I've talked to Laxus a time or two, but he only assumed that it was our version of a mating call."

"So you think these books are about finding you mates then?"

"Levy, this is bigger than that! We have a chance to learning everything that we possibly can about ourselves. These books could help us understand so much about our past, and even our future. Hell, Mira and Laxus have already started on the future dragon slayers. We need to understand our history so we can move forward. I figured you would understand that."

"Using my own words about why I study history against me? You're a clever one, Sting Eucliffe."

"I just knew you wouldn't be able to turn down helping your friends."

I paused for a dramatic moment just to see if I could get a reaction out of him, but he was so sure of himself. He was also right. I wasn't going to turn down being able to help my friends and their future children.

"I have a feeling that I may regret this, but I'll take the job. But you have to do everything my way, Sting. You are not going to be interrupting me to ask fifty million questions. You are at least going to let me finish a chapter or 5 before you demand answers. Got it?"

He stood up rather rapidly and appeared right in front of me. Kneeling down to my level – even if he was still taller on his knees than me sitting in a chair – he said matter of factly, "Let's seal the deal, shall we? I think they used to kiss in the old days."

With his simple words, he pulled me in for a kiss of a life time. My heart raced through my chest as a fire flooded my nervous system. I swear he could hear the pounding of my heart because he only depend the kiss. A cough broke up our kiss. Wendy was standing behind use half way holding a pitcher of water, which was now being dumped on the floor. _Poor kid. I think we scarred her for life._

Sting grinned from ear to ear as Wendy righted the half empty water picture. He was so cheerful now as he told her, "Levy has agreed to help us, Wendy!"

Wendy froze. She wasn't sure of the proper etiquette for interrupting a kiss nor for Sting's enthusiasm involving her beloved friend. Looking from me to Sting, she released a nervous giggle.

I slowly rose pushing my chair into the corner. Sting stayed where he was so I moved around him. "Wendy, thank you for lunch. It was wonderful like always." I walked out without looking back. As an introvert, sometimes is just easier running away from the problem at hand, which was known as Sting.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own the plot line.**


	5. The Conspiracy

**Warning: A minor spoiler will appear. If you have seen the last episode of the Tartarous Arc then you will be fine. If you haven't seen it, just skip over Levy's findings that are italicized – those findings are not essential to the plotline. The notes were just fun added details.**

Chapter 5

I spent the next few days avoiding a certain blonde headed dragon slayer and my usual stalker as I hid away in our guild's library. Keeping my end of the bargain, I started to translate our version of the Dragon Encyclopedia. Most of the information within this volume was about the affinities of the element each dragon and dragon slayer form. For example, air dragons were carefree, light hearted, and happy, which describes our sky dragon slayer to a T. But she could be ferrous when she fought. As I read through the dragon types, I listed noted similarities to the seven dragon slayers that we knew. My findings:

 _General information shows that all dragons and dragon slayers are extremely hard to kill and they are magical power houses. All dragons and dragon slayers are possessive of what they consider theirs and they will fight for their friends and family with all that they have. They absorb their natural element and other elements due to their special lungs. Once the new elements are acquired, the dragon slayer can keep the power for future use. Dragon slayers who do not have anti-bodies in their system will slowly turn into dragons. The second generation slayers will not have this problem due to their powers being granted by a lacriam._

· _Natsu – Fire Dragon Slayer– First Generation_

o _Traits: warm, loving, intense, strong, resilient, strong willed, hot headed, determined, and agile._

· _Wendy – Sky Dragon Slayer – First Generation_

o _Traits: happy, gently, carefree, healer, powerful, and intense burst in battle (can be destructive when in danger._

· _Gajeel – Iron Dragon Slayer– First Generation_

o _Traits: Stubborn, hot headed, strong, determined, fighter, literally thick skin, and rash, hardly eats anything but iron._

· _Laxus – Lightning Dragon Slayer – Second Generation_

o _Traits: powerful, deadly, recharges easily, calm until provoked, determined, ambivert, in the younger years he had a short fuse._

· _Sting – Light Dragon Slayer – Third Generation_

o _Traits: confident, full of life, extrovert, powerful, intense, personality almost like a literal ray of light, strong leader._

· _Rogue – Shadow Dragon Slayer– Third Generation_

o _Traits: stealthy, broody, calm, tactful, introvert, powerful, always seeking the light, strong._

· _Cobra – Poison Dragon Slayer – Second Generation_

o _Traits: very determined, lonely, vicious, fast, extreme hearing, fantasic defensive skills, patient, introvert/ambivert._

o _Not much is known about Cobra except for when the group fought the Oracion Seis. To full compare him to others, more data required. *Bribe Ezra with cake and bribe Jellal with Ezra; the problem should be resolved once Jellal ask Corba for more information._

All of these traits and habits could not be coincidence. If the book was correct, then the potential list of the future types of dragon slayers was amazing. We could learn so much more about their anatomy, their powers, and even the span of their lives. I continued to study and take notes from this fascinating volume for most of the afternoon.

With my head in a book, I didn't notice that I was being watched. A crash startled me out of my bookish splendor to see Rogue emerge from the shadows with a box full of chocolates and a book in his hand. I wasn't sure what to think about his sudden appearance, but he just smiled shyly at me. This was one too many dragon slayers being nice to me within a short time span. Did I have a bright neon sign on my forehead saying please apply for dates if you are a dragon slayer?

I threw a death glare at him as he held up his hands as a sign of surrender. I growled "What do you want, Rogue?"

"I came to bring these for you. Sting specifically requested you get the large box of dark chocolates, this book, and…" He dug around in his large sleeve for a minute before he pulled out some of my favorite tea. "Ah, here is a concentration tea that Freed recommend. I hope you like your gifts!" Rogue said cheerful. Normally, I wouldn't associate cheerful with Rogue unless it involved Frosch.

 _Could this day get any weirder?_ But I felt bad for growling at the poor man now. "I'm sorry for being rude, Rogue. I just thought that…" I chewed my lip. What was I suppose to tell him?

"Levy, it's okay. Honestly, Sting warned me what you might have been thinking so he warned me you may be a little hostile. He thought you'd prefer me to him thought after your date the other day. If he came, he figured you'd kick him out or throw a book at his head." Rogue said with a snicker as he imagined the little bluenette throwing the tall, happy dragon slayer out.

 _I can live without dragon slayers. I can live without dragon slayers. Maybe if I keep repeating this in my brain then I will remember it. Judging by the smile on Rouge's face, I may need to add I will not magically drop giant stones on dragon slayer's heads to the list too._

"Thank you, Rogue! I'm not sure if I could handle all of Sting's attention right now." I said with a sigh. A small part of me wished the interruption was Sting while a large part just wanted to figure out what exactly I wanted do with my new admirer.

Rogue could see the play of emotions across my face. "You don't have to worry about him right now. He returned to Sabertooth for some guild business. But just so you know, I've never seen him care about what anyone thinks like he does with you. He's just scared he'll scare you off if he's always around."

I eyed my new friend suspiciously. He was supporting Sting's efforts to date me. "Don't take this the wrong way, Rogue, but why are you so talkative all of a sudden? You've hardly said anything to anyone but Sting?"

He had a confused expression on his face then he laughed. "You must still be on volume 1 or you would have figured it out by now. This is very amusing though. I don't think Sting's ever had a woman run from him before."

I just raised my arm and pointed at the door for him to leave. "Leave, Rogue. Tell Sting I said thank you for the gifts, and thank you for being the delivery boy. Now, can I get back to my work if you're through making fun of me?"

Rogue smirked and bowed to me before he left. I could hear him whisper, "You'll figure it out soon, Levy."

What was going through those dragon slayer's heads right now? I had half a mind to call Laxus to block the Sabertooth twins from coming in here, but I knew that wouldn't be fair – at least to Sting. He did commission me for this job so I guess I'm just going to have to put up with him. _But why did he have to be so handsome and sweet._ I longingly glanced over at the chocolate trying to decide if a real break was in order from all my hard research.

I glanced over at the clock. _When did it get this late!_ A break in my research wouldn't kill me, and it would let my brain rest so I slipped up stairs to talk to Mirajane and to find some supper. Then I planned to return for more hours of research followed by a nap on the couch and more research. That's why they make coffee, right?

When I entered the dining room, the reigning beauty queen and mother hen to the guild was serving drinks to our rowdy members. Then she looked up to see making my way towards her. Mirajane's eyes lit up as she waved at me. "Hey, Mira!" I called out to her as she fixed my usual meal before I even had a chance to sit down at the bar.

I could sense she was up to something before she even handed me a bowl of her famous stew. "Thanks, Mira. May I also have an ale? Please." She smiled at me as her white hair danced around her shoulders as she moved. Before she could even place the drink in front of me I groaned because her smile just transformed the room into a thousand kilowatt smile. _Oi, I'm in trouble now…_

"Which dragon slayer just walked in the door, Mira?" I steeled myself for her answer.

"Why would you think one just came in?" She asked innocently. I knew then that it wasn't going to Laxus because her smile would have been a smirk followed by a wink. I highly doubted that it was Natsu since I didn't hear Happy or Lucy. This left only two options – Gajeel or Sting. Technically, she could have smiled at Rogue, but I knew it had to be one of the other too. "Mira, if you invite him over, I promise you I am going to make your Sitri form look like a cupcake compared to my revenge."

"You wouldn't do anything to me because of Laxus and the baby…" She said as she patted her round stomach.

"Try me, she-demon!" Mirajane turned to fill an ale glass. Maybe I did win the battle for now, but then I heard the bar stool move next to me. _Damn her and her fascination with matchmaking! Why did I help her and Laxus fall in love three years ago? I really hate this type of payback! Why couldn't she have given me books instead of trying to find me a mate?_

Turning slightly, I was met by brilliant sapphire eyes. "Well back to the land of the living my little bookworm."

"I'm not yours, Sting!" I raised my voice only to be greeted by his laughter. _I'll hand it to you, Mira. Arguing with me was a brilliant side distraction so I wouldn't flee Sting's presence._

Sting winked at Mirajane. "So this was all a conspiracy in the first place to get me to leave the library? Rogue bringing me presents. Him telling me that you're at Sabertooth. All this was one big elaborate ruse just so I would let my guard down wasn't it?" I said was I poked Sting in the chest. The guild hall suddenly went quite as they watched our exchange.

"You're a spit-fire when you're annoyed and so adorable. I like this side of you! What other tricks are you hiding up your sleeve, Levy McGarden?" Sting leaned into to me whispering some no sense about a date.

My eyes were round as saucers when Mirajane interrupted my shock. "I think you should give him a chance, Levy." I thought I was the only one to hear his question. Granted, she's been trying to set me up with anyone she thought I'd say yes with from Freed to Jet to even a desperate attempt at Lyon. All of Mirajane's candidates failed so Sting was the next lucky man who fell into her matchmaking schemes.

"Mirajane, mind your own business!" I told her since I was more aggravated at myself for falling for their trick than at her. Sting just laughed and enjoyed his ale while the two women argued.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you out!" She exclaimed when Laxus pulled up a seat on the other side of me. "Isn't that right honey? We should help Levy out! Dragon slayers are all the rage now!" She said with a wink. "I should know since I married one!"

Laxus looked at me with pity in his eyes. He knew Mirajane would not give up easily. I nudged him with my arm hoping that he would take the hint. "Mira, can you let Levy eat in peace? She is working, and her boss is here." Laxus asked.

"Who do you think I'm trying to set her up with, dear?" Laxus raised an eyebrow at Mirajane's pairing. Many people wouldn't expect to see the bookworm and Sabertooth's guild master and twin dragon slayer dating.

"Mira, I need all the help that I can get with Levy. She's already ran away from me once." Sting exclaimed. Why did he have to go open his big mouth?

"Levy! Why did you leave him?" Receiving a scolding from Mirajane is like kicking a puppy. You just didn't do it if you value your life.

"That's our business, Mira! Quite being a busy body match maker. Just let me eat so I can get back to work!" I replied bravely. Okay, so I was talk. I don't think I could make even Mirajane's normal Satan Soul form look like a cupcake, and she knows it.

I heard Mirjane, "Hmmp.." as I began to eat my stew. Inwardly, I was hoping Sting would disappear, but he was just letting me eat in peace. Poor Laxus. He was confused. On one side her had his terrifying, pregnant demon wife, and on the other side was his "little" sister so the best thing for him to do was to kept his mouth closed on the subject. I bet he was going to receive a scolding later too. An evil smile tried to brooch my lips. At least someone was going to share in my slight despair.

Then Mirajane brought up the subject I was dreading to here."If I recall correctly, you played match maker with Laxus and I a few years ago."

I started to sweat now. If she brought this incident up, then this situation was about to get serious. Time to flee! "Thanks for the meal, Mira! I'm headed back to work!"

Before I could even jump off the stool good, Sting's arm slid around my midsection. He graceful pulled me over till I was between him and the bar sitting on his lap. _Why me?_

"You are not allowed to work for the rest of the night - boss's orders." He said with a cocky smile. I thought this Sting had disappeared. Apparently I was wrong, or could he just be this happy?

"Sting, I still have a quarter of the first volume to finish and the whole second one. I've been getting asked for answers so the sooner I finish the better for all of us. Our lives will go back to normal then."

"No. You still need a night off. Hell, you need a weekend off. Besides, I know you've worked six days straight hardly without any sleep, Levy. You need to rest so you are going on a date with me."

"How is a date with you restful exactly?" I asked suspiciously. What I was curious? How could I not ask what he had planned in the most seemingly non-interested why possible?

"Well, you didn't say no so that is a good sign. Just agree, Levy. What's the worst that can happen? Are you scared of me? A little, ole dragon slayer?"

"I'm scared that Natsu and Gajeel are going to bust through the door and start an enormous fight with you. You'll cause more trouble than I'm worth. So why don't you leave me alone? I don't like you, Sting! Get that through your thick skull."

"You like me just fine, Levy. You're just scared of what could be. Take a leap of faith for me. I promise you will enjoy it." His voice stirred a hint of emotion that I thought was long dead. He was right. I was too scared and worried about the trouble what this non-existence relationship could bring to the guild – even to myself.

I looked up at him from his lap still with regret hiding in my eyes. "I'm sorry, Sting, but I can't. If it will make you feel better though, I will have a witness when I leave here tonight, and I will not come in till they swing by and grab me in the morning."

"I'm sorry too, Levy?" He said as sadness laced his voice.

"What do you have to be sorry for, Sting." I asked two Stings emerged in my line of vision as everything else started to spin. "This…" He whispered. Mirajane and Laxus shared a secret smiled.

Sting scooped Levy up, but before he left the bar Laxus stopped him. "You better take care of her, Sting, or Levy will be the least of your worries. I agreed to help Mira with this plan because she trust you to do right by her. Do not make me regret it." The lightning dragon slayer said as the room filled with electricity causing thunder and flashes of lightning throughout the room.

 **Hey y'all! I just wanted to point out if these traits may not already exist in the dragon slayers in the anime, but this is at least four years in the future from the end of the last episode, so they are slowing growing into these characters. If you've enjoyed the story so far, can you please leave a review? Any type of feedback is welcomed! Thank you for reading my story!**


	6. The Game Plan

Groaning, I rolled over whatever I was laying on, and I almost fell except for long arms pulling me back up. Just great! Waking up in an unfamiliar room is just something every girl dreams of! "Where am I?" I mumbled.

"You're finally awake! Good!" The all too familiar voice said. His arms still curled around me, but they were loose enough for me to escape if I wanted to. I peaked under the cover to make sure my clothes were still on. Everything is present and accounted for! I tried to get up again, but at this particular moment, I just wanted to snuggle up against his warmth because I was freezing. I'm completely positive it had nothing to do with sharing a bed with an Adonis.

"What the hell did you do to me, Sting?" I complained.

"I didn't do anything to you other than bring you to a comfortable bed so you can get some much need rest. You really should be careful with all the coffee and awake spells you've been using. Freed said the runes he taught you had a nasty habit of biting you in the ass if you weren't careful. He was right. You are running on empty."

Wait he did this to protect me from myself? I should be mad at him, but I think it's a little cute. But that still begs the question of how I got here. I asked cautiously, "Did you drug me because my head feels like elephants tap dancing up there?"

"Mira may have slipped a little something in your ale when you were too busy arguing with me." He grimaced a little at his admission. At least he could feel guilty about something.

"What! She agreed to that!" I shouted. Honestly, shouting with a hangover wasn't the brightest ideas I've ever had.

Sting nodded at me. "She and Laxus were in on my plan to pamper you for a weekend since you've been working so hard. You were going to make yourself sick if you don't take a break, Levy. We're not in dire need of learning what the books say so there was no rush. But one thing has bothered me. Why didn't you use your Gale-Force glasses for the project?"

"They broke, and I didn't have enough jewels to replace them with." I admitted shyly.

"You could have just asked me, and I would have bought you another pair." Sting scratched his head for a minute. "You didn't want to see me did you? You knew I would offer to buy you another pair so you decided to be hard-head and do it the old fashion way. Didn't you, Levy?" Sting actually gave me an evil glare, but it was more amusing because he was trying so hard not to laugh.

"I like to research the old fashion way sometimes thank you very much!" I stuck my touch out at him. "Besides I find dragons fascinating! Why would I want to hurry searching a subject like that?"

"I think you also have a fascination with dragon slayers if I'm not mistaken." He said as he tried to tug me closer to him. His smooth voice flowed through my ears sending chills down my spine.

"Sting, do not make me but an enchantment on you." I growled as I scooted away from him. With my pulse racing like this, we needed space between us.

"It's too late for that my little book worm. You did that the moment you fell off the ladder into my arms."

"That's it!" I said. I've had enough of the sweet talking dragon slayer. I silently thanked Freed for teaching me his magic as I threw an enchantment on the bed from the pen I grabbed off the bedside table. "I'm going to shower and get dressed for my day. Until you cool it with the charming, lovely dovey mood you are banished to the bed. Have fun trying to leave it." I said with an evil smile. I really would like to see him try to get out of my trap without becoming crispy. I couldn't help but snicker at the idea.

After my shower, I came back to see a very agitated dragon slayer sitting on the bed in nothing but his boxers. Do you know how are it was not to stare at him even though I was redder than a tomato? I should be used to it considering Gray's stripping habit, but he doesn't make my heart race like Sting does.

"Are you ever going to let me out of here?" He growled from the bed.

"What would I want to do that for?" I asked with a smirk, but it vanished as soon as I watched him use Light Dragon Roar to crash through my enchantment. Needless to say I was in shock. Maybe I shouldn't have teased him so much.

He marched right up to me, pushed me up against the wall, and gave me a soul shattering kiss, which turned from a single kiss turned to multiple kiss. I thought my heart would pound out of my chest because I was pretty sure the Light Dragon Slayer just walked off with it as he went to shower.

When he came back into the room, Sting found me with this dazed and confused look still on my face. I really needed to figure out what I was going to do with him fast if I ever wanted to keep my sanity.

My mouth watered as Sting approached the couch. He looked amazing in black jeans with a dark blue shirt, which made his eyes brighter. Sting held out a hand to help pull me off the couch.

"Are you ready for an adventure?" His eyes scared me – not in a bad way mind you. They were just full of mischief.

"I have an adventure every time I read a book." Sting plus adventure terrified and excited me. I doubt I was ever going to get my heart back now.

"Since you're the adventure queen, how does a day at the spa followed by dinner with our friends?" He eyed me. I did owe him one for locking him into the enchantment, but he did get out of it easily, which peeved me. I looked up at him. "If you tell me why you didn't break the enchantment earlier, then I will deal with the spa trip."

"Awe, look! We're compromising just like a real couple!" He said excitedly.

 _On second thought, I should just drop a ton of iron over his head…_

I glared at him until he answered. "Fine! Quit giving me the evil Levy because it just makes me want to repeat our make out session, cupcake. So if you want to leave the room stop."

I wasn't sure if my face was pale or redder than a fire engine. That man sure did know how to get my attention. "Just tell me why you didn't escape, Sting! Quit trying to seduce me!"

"But I haven't even begun to try yet!" He exclaimed. Sting pulled me closer. "You're doing the look again, Levy."

"No! Answer the question! Stop stalling!" I yelled at Sting.

"I'm having to fun teasing you though." I huffed, and he finally relented as his arms fell to his side. "Grab your book. You won't need your purse or anything. Today is my treat. Before you even start, I'll tell you why I waited. It's so simple - you weren't in the room with me. I was trying to be a good boy and give you some space; hence, why the roaring only occurred when you were present and towards the opposite side of the room. I wasn't mad. I thought it was kind of cute."

"So in other words you were sleepy and bored while you planned seduction techniques."

"Can't you take things at face value without reading into motives?"

The man had reached my last nerve for a morning without coffee. "No. I can't. The last time I did that I almost ended up dead because I trusted the wrong person. He was supposed to protect me. When we were on a job, he was so lost in grief from losing his father yet again that I was caught in the cross fire between his attack and the enemies. He was always so lost in darkness that I finally had to leave because I was just as lost as he was. So if I seem over cautious where men are concerned, please forgive me. I will not have a repeat of my previous relationship where everything revolves around the man and what he wants."

I turned away in frustration. I wasn't sure why all these feelings came to the surface so suddenly, but I was overjoyed when Sting pulled me into his arms as I cried. He stroked my hair and rubbed my back as I poured out my tears all over his beautiful shirt. An overwhelming sense of peace filled me because he cared even though he hardly knew me, which just made me cry harder.

Finally, I stopped around a few minutes. "I'm sorry, Sting, for giving you such a hard time and for turning your shirt into a tissue." I said with a half hearted laugh.

He tilted my face up and kissed my forehead. "Levy, I understand more than you know. I was filled with darkness, even though I was had all the light I could want. That changed when we fought Fairy Tail in the games, and I took over the guild. Rogue and I made the guild what it should be – a family. I found all my light thanks to Fairy Tail. But I see now, you're trying to find your way out of the dark. If you need to talk, know that I am here for you no matter what." I couldn't answer because I was trying to control the little thread I had on my emotions.

"Now, let's go get you a massage, and whatever else you want, cupcake." We headed out the door hand in hand. Maybe this day or weekend wasn't going to be so bad after all.

 **Thank you for reading! I hope you've been enjoying the story! I appreciate the sweet reviews so thank you!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own the plot line.**


	7. The Treat!

Sting and I arrived at Spa and Tea. A line of my best friends stood next to the entrance with their dragon slayers – Lucy and Natsu, Mirajane and Laxus, Wendy and Romeo. I ran to great the girls with hugs while the men said hello.

For the first time, I didn't try to push Sting away as his arm wrapped around my waist. "I wanted to give you another surprise so I thought that a girls' day at the spa sipping your favorite tea would be a wonderful idea. You know, I wasn't the only one missing you, Levy."

I surprised everyone when I gave Sting a kiss on his cheek. He really thought of everything. "Go have fun with the girls while the guys get in some trouble." Sting said with his signature smirk.

Staring up at my dragon slayer, I gave him a weary glance. "Before you go, I have some rules for you all." I exclaimed loudly before I continued. "Number one, do not try to kill each other because I know you are wanting rematches to see who's more powerful!" All the ladies nodded and murmured in agreement with me. "Number two, do not destroy the town, the buildings, or anything else! I do not care if you can replace it."

Lucy coughed "Natsu" under her breath. Everyone busted out laughing because the pink haired man kept going "What? Lucy, this isn't funny! Why am I the one who always gets in picked on?" Natsu had a very bad habit of trying to pick a fight with anyone who breathed, and he didn't care about the wake of destruction he left in his path.

All the men agreed to behave on penalty of death from Mirajane. I even threatened them with calling Ezra if they didn't behave. They promised to make the right choice since Ezra was too busy getting ready for her upcoming wedding with Jellal, or she would have been here today. Never disturb Ezra when it involved strawberry cake or her wedding. You honestly thought she was bad before, you haven't seen her upset over the wrong flowers or too few strawberries for her wedding cake.

Mirajane nudged me in the arm as we were sitting in the sauna. Our massages and mud baths were wonderful, but they were all separated. This was the first time our group really had a chance to talk without the men being around. "So how's it going with Sting? Did you enjoy his little rendezvous with him the other night?"

Lucy and Wendy's jaws hit the floor. "How could you tell her but not me?" Lucy exclaimed in a hurt tone.

Wendy smiled. "I knew it! There was so much electricity in the air when I was waiting on you two last week! Business meeting! Mhhhh… I guess that's what everyone's calling it these days!"

"She even knew?" Lucy lowered her head to the floor disappointed that she missed all the juicy details of Levy's love life.

"Don't act like that Lucy! Wendy is talking about the same day I saw you in the book shop so you were ahead of the game. She just happened to walk in when I accepted the job offer from Sting, and he had the bright idea to seal it with a kiss."

"He did what! Really! How was it?"

Blushing and cringing away at the same time, I answered, "It was the best kiss of my life then, but I ran away…"

"Now I see where this is going! Mirajane helped Sting with mission huh?"

"You don't know the half of it." I mumbled.

Mirajane was more than happy to fill Wendy and Lucy in on the whole story with a smile on her face even when she told them she drugged me. I laughed hard when Mirajane told the story of Laxus trying to intimidate Sting, but his tactics didn't work. I doubt there was anything my dragon slayer couldn't handle.

When her tale was over, I asked, "Mira, how did Sting talk you into all this to begin with?"

"He simply asked. Who am I to stand in the way of dragon slayer love?" She said wistfully as she clutched her hands together. I rolled my eyes at her. Lucy was trying not to laugh at Mirajane's expression, and poor Wendy was just so confused.

"Mira…"

"What? He looked pitiful as he sulked waiting for you to come up from the library." Gone was the sweet Mirajane as she looked at me with stormy eyes. I gulped in horror. I could just imagine the conversation of how the spa was destroyed. "You should have never run away from that man! He is gorgeous, playful, smart, and caring, which you really need, Levy."

I held my hands up to show her a sign of surrender. "Before you go full demon form, please remember that I agree with one hundred percent! I didn't before, but I do now. So please don't kill anyone." I said in a little voice.

Suddenly the dark shadow over the sauna vanished. Rays of hope beamed from Mirajane like a light. "It's about damn time, Levy." She rose from her seat to give me a hug. "You deserve to be happy." Soon all the girls were tackling me with hugs.

"Awe! I love you all too!" I replied. I was holding back tears of happiness. It was astonishing to feel so loved!

Our wonderful day ended in a surprise. Each lady had a new outfit that they were suppose to wear for the evening. My dress was a radiant yellow shimmering gown that flared at the waste with a sweetheart neckline. The dress was extremely flattering in areas that I thought were lacking. To my surprise, my shoes were the as dark blue as the sea, and they glimmered like a gemstone. Sting even surprised me by slipping a handbag in the room with a sign copy of my favorite book. If I wasn't half in love with him already, I definitely would be now. The man had wonderful taste.

Lucy's attire from Natsu was a dark off the shoulder pink chiffon gown. Looking at the dress, Lucy was scared that her ample breasts were not going to fit. When she tried the dress on, she squealed like a little girl. She could die of happiness because this dress was perfect. Everything from the color to the draping of the fabric fit was the embodiment of her dream dress. Natsu bought her a pair of simple, yet stunning nude heels to go with her outfit. Lucy blushed at Natsu's other gift, but needless to say her husband would be getting to see it later tonight. What else were newlyweds suppose to do?

Wendy's dress from Romeo was beautiful. She looked like a princess in the white gown. The bottom was covered in dark blue trim with vines emerging on the bottom twisting to the half way up the gown. Her shoes were dark blue sandals with heels that were simple but gorgeous. She twirled around for us in her dress. I think she fell more in love with Romeo judging by the look in her eyes.

Mirajane came in an elegant, floor length black dress with a little slit up the side. She looked glamorous and completely adorable with her small pregnant belly poking out. Laxus even attached a note to the dress, but she wouldn't let any of the girls read it as a tear or two escaped her eyes. Then her eyes lit up delight at the sight of her new shoes! They were silver sandals with one inch heels that sparkled in the light – beauty and practicality all it one! Laxus made his wife feel more loved than ever. Hormones overrode Mirajane's senses as she began to cry. All the ladies looked stunning. They couldn't have asked for better men.

Little did the ladies know that the men were watching from behind a statue. They were all leaning on top of one another to get a glimpse at their lady love's reaction. Suddenly, Sting realized that a certain bluenette was missing from the group. Just as he climbed down, he came face to face with the one he was searching for.

Sting smiled and looked at me sheepishly. "I can explain! We just wanted to see the reactions to the dresses when you came out!" He eyed me up and down before he continued. Staring in my chocolate brown eyes, he said, "You look breath taking, Levy."

"You clean up pretty nice yourself." I replied with a smile on my face as I took the sight of Sting in a tuxedo with a bow tie. This was about perfection! I subconsciously wiped the imaginary drool from my mouth.

"Ready for dinner?" He asked as he arched an eyebrow at me.

"I'm ready for…" I stopped myself before I said it because there was no going back and we were in public. That was really close! Sting eyed be suspiciously for a moment begging me to continue. "You're right let's grab these numbskulls and head out!"

Before we grabbed the three men, I grabbed Sting's jacket and pulled him close. The look on my face told him all he needed to know so he captured my lips with his. "Thank you for everything, Sting. Today has been one of the best days of my life."

He whispered in my ear, "But we're not even through yet." I shivered at the promises to come.

 **Again thank you for reading! I appreciate it! Just to let you know, I wrote a one shot title is One Shot: Guys' Day Out. I figured it would be fun to see what the men were up to while the ladies were enjoying their time! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own the plotline.**


	8. Evening Out

**Sorry for the late update! I was just extremely busy this week. I hope y'all enjoy.**

All of us ladies were desperately waiting to see our lovely surprise for tonight. The fancy dresses and the tuxedos were a clue that we were never going to forget this experience. When we arrived, the men climbed out first and told us to cover our eyes. Once we were out of the car, each man put their hands over their lady's eyes. Finally, we were begging to see what the event was because the suspense killing us!

Sting was the first to remove his hands since this was his idea. I screamed excitedly jumping up and down, and then I remembered we were in public as I attempted to hid behind Sting as I blushed furiously. I watched as the other men removed their hands from their ladies' eyes. They had the same reaction that I did! Sting was a brilliant master mind! What better gift to treat bookworms to than a ball and silent auction gala for famous writers?

As we approached the door, I saw a nervous, green looking Rogue off to the side along with a very fairy like Yukino. She was in a lavender ball gown with tulle that looked like petals. Rogue looked very handsome in an all black tuxedo even if he was a little green. Fortunately for us, we came with our own personal healer. Wendy was kind enough to fix Rogue's travel sickness.

I glanced around to see if I could find the exceeds anywhere, but none were near. My curiosity almost got the best of me to ask him before Wendy finished healing him, but I reigned it in. When he gained some of his color back, I approached him. "Hello, Rogue!"

He shyly looked away. Where was the brave man who faced me in my library? "Hi, Levy."

After two minutes of silence, I was feed up with the lack of conversation while the others greeted one another. Rogue looked so lonely like he was lost in thought; yet, he wouldn't talk to me. It's time to bring the shadow dragon slayer out of his shell! "Why do you look so depressed, Rogue?"

With a heavy sigh, he began to tell me his troubles. "I called ahead to include Frosch and Lector in our party tonight, but the gala owners wouldn't let them come." He looked like he may start to cry any minute so I gave him a hug, which shocked him completely. Rogue was frozen into place then I saw him lock eyes with Sting. Tension flowed out of Rogue when Sting nodded his head. I guess the dragon slayers take their dates seriously.

"I'll be okay, Levy. I just worry about Frosch because he likes to get lost a lot. Rufus and Lector are supposed to be watching him, but you know how that goes. Frosch likes to wander off and chase anything that catches his attention."

"Yes, I think I do." I said as I sent a wink to Sting. He rewarded me with a dazzling smile. Sting looked happy seeing me bond with his brother.

Just when I was about to return to Sting, Rogue wrapped his hand around my wrist. He whispered into my ear. "Have you figured it out yet?"

Confusion crossed my face when I tried to register his saying yet again. When I turned to question him, Rogue acted like he said nothing. What is it with these dragon slayers being so obtuse? I cleared the troubling thought from my mind as we made our way inside.

The gala was beautiful. The roof was made of clear glass windows so you could dance and admire the moonlight. It was an amazing night for admiring the starlight. The heavens were clear and the stars were beautiful masses shimmering in the dark blue sky.

I giggled like a school girl at the majesty of this place. I didn't even know where to being exploring! Every couple went their separate way as we decided to meet back up for supper in an hour and a half. I grinned up at Sting. "You do know a book worm could get into a lot of trouble during that time frame, right?"

"Sure. I could also get into trouble for side tracking my book worm." He said as he placed a kiss on my neck. A shiver went from my down my spine to my toes and back up again.

"We are here to find books, good sir!" I playfully slapped him on his should. "You are not allowed to side track me or their will be consequences." I whispered the last part to him.

"Fine, cupcake! Do what you will. But since this my idea, who am I to stop you? I knew what I was getting myself into." He said laughing. Sting placed his arm around me as we went off to find new books.

Supper time came too quickly. We were escorted to a court yard area underneath the stars. Magical candles were floating everywhere, and quartet music fluttered throughout the warm night air. Our server led us to a large circular table adorned with a dove white table cloth. Gold plates and flatware were provided a touch of color while the candle center piece reflected the warm glow of the firelight. This place was truly amazing

I was still in awe of Sting's surprise. It hasn't been long since we've been friends – well a little more than friends now – but he seems to know me inside and out. This fairytale setting was something I longed to see come to life, but I never figured anything like this would happen to me. Who was I to deserve all of this wonder?

As I held back tears of gratefulness, I squeezed Sting's hand to convey my thanks. "You're well worth it, Levy. Don't ever doubt yourself." Sting whispered in my ear as I looked at him in shock. How did he know what I was thinking? Was I that much of an opened book?

Laughing, I quietly asked him, "Someday you're going to have to tell me how you read my mind."

All he said was, "You'll find out soon enough." Could men be anymore cryptic sometimes?

We all took out seats as we waiting for dinner to be served. Lucy and Natsu were making silly faces at one another. She looked extremely happy till he decided to try to eat one of the floating candles. Natsu just didn't understand the concept that he couldn't eat the imaginary candle's flame because it was an illusion. But we all got a good laugh at his multiple attempts to jump up and catch the candles while trying not to knock his wife and the table over. On the last attempt, he nearly landed on Yukino and Mirajane. Finally, Laxus had enough of Natsu's inanity and zapped him with a little lightning.

"LAXUS!" Natsu screamed while Lucy was trying to control her husband from attacking Laxus. Someone lookers stated in horror at our table. _Great! I guess they know we're from Fairy Tail, and it wasn't like Sabertooth's reputation wasn't better than ours right now._

The candles dimmed before a quiet, but deadly, quiet voice could be heard. "Natsu, you were being absurd. Laxus was trying to get you to act like a civilized person so sit down right now and enjoy the meal. There will be no fighting tonight. Do you understand me?" Mirajane stated. When Mirajane spoke like that everyone listened and obeyed. She was scarier than Erza at time. Everyone was slightly pale at her threat except for me and Laxus. We knew that she just wanted to enjoy the evening without having in turned into a fiery brawl, and I had to agree with her sentiment.

I felt bad for Natsu. "Solid Script Fire." I stated. Natsu's eyes lit up in delight as fire danced in front of him.

"Thank you, Levy." He murmured steadily munching on the fire. A sigh of relief flowed through the table. Peace was restored for now at least.

A server arrived to pour every some but Mirajane some spiced wine. They were kind enough to have non-alcoholic wine on hand so they brought her some to try. While everyone enjoying their drinks, Mirajane began to plot her next match. I could see the knowing look in her eyes. She smirked and purposely caught my eyes as she was tilting her head at Yukino, who was sitting beside her. The poor girl is never going to know what hit her. Apparently the she-demon's goal was to set up Yukino and Rogue since they did not look like a couple. _Maybe I should get Laxus involved? He possibly could distract her from her mission. What is it with her and trying to set up dragon slayers?_

The servers appeared out of nowhere as our mysterious meals arrived. First we were asked if we had any allergies, which none of us did, so we picked a colored card from each server. The colored card had a book title on the back which then you had a list of options to choose from. Whatever option you picked was magically appeared in front of you along with tea and a dessert. I chose the yellow card representing _The Lord of the Rings_. I ordered all the tasty elvish food! I glanced at Sting's blue card and watched him make a horrorible face.

"What's a matter with your choices?"

"They either have fish or lard in the sentence."

"What was the title of the book, Sting?"

" _Moby Dick._ "

I laughed so hard I was in tears. Sting just couldn't see the similarity in the situation right now. I had to explain to him the story was about a man who was always in search of the elusive white whale and he would find it at any cost. "Kind of like searching for the perfect mate right?" I asked as I watched concern or worry flash in his eyes, but it was gone the next instance.

"So who wants to trade?" Sting asked, but none of the others were willing to exchange their orders.

"How about we share?" I suggested.

He placed a kiss on my forehead. "That sounds wonderful to me."

After supper was over, I wondered over to look at the gardens below. I heard footsteps behind me, but I ignored them. A large hand touched my shoulder, but I knew that magic all too well. Laxus asked, "Where did you go? You're mind seems to be wondering tonight."

"Honestly, I was thinking about my word on the Dragon Encyclopedias."

"This weekend was supposed to be a break from work, Levy."

"Laxus, don't take the big brother tone with me. Please? It's okay really. This break has refreshed my mind and cleansed my spirit."

"It also helps when you are not running or hiding from a certain dragon slayer." He said as a smirk graced his lips. "He really does care for you, Levy. I just hope you're ready for the challenges ahead."

I tilted my head at him. Why are the dragon slayers so confusing? "What do you mean?"

"When you read the second volume, your understanding about us and our emotions will grow tenfold. Just try not to be too hard on Sting when all this is over with."

"I plan to still be dating Sting when I finish the job." Laxus arched an eyebrow at me. "He's not the only who has feelings in this thing, Laxus. I like him a lot as well. He knows me so well after a few meetings. It's almost scary."

I looked back at the table as I absorbed Laxus' words. Wendy and Romeo were dancing right in front of the open doors. Mirajane and Yukino were discussing something intensely - probably Rogue judging by Yukino's blush. Lucy and Natsu were… I didn't see them so that wasn't always a bad thing. I just hope Natsu was behaving himself for Lucy's sake. Finally, my glaze landed on Sting and Rogue. Those two were talking quietly as they threw glances my way every few seconds until Sting's glace caught my eye. I shared a secret smile at him and winked. He returned my smile as he blew me a kiss. Then he returned talking to Rogue. Now, I needed to solve this conundrum quickly. Why were the twin dragon slayers behaving like this?

 **Thank you for reading! I hoped you enjoyed the update! Again I apologize for the slow update. I had to figure out where I wanted to go with the story and life was just insane this week. I'll have another update soon!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own the plot line.**


	9. Dancing and Mayhem

I returned my glaze to the garden trying to solve my mysterious dragon slayer. Now to think about it, all of the dragon slayers were being unusual, well except for Natsu. He was being his normal, goofy self. My thoughts were interrupted when I felt a familiar magical energy. Laxus reached out and placed his hand over mind on the railing. "Why don't we go dance, Levy?"

"Wouldn't Mira kill you for asking me to dance before her?" I inquired. I was too fond of my well being to risk the wrath of the she-demon.

"Mira would be offended if I interrupted her match making session. She's busy harassing Yukino about Rogue when he is not talking to your boyfriend."

I knew Mirajane matchmaking skills all too well. At least her next victim won't be me anytime soon. "If you really want to dance, then we can. Like you said, Sting is too busy talking to Rogue right now. I doubt he'll miss me for a few minutes."

Laxus and I proceeded to walk me out on the dance floor. We grabbed Wendy and Romeo to come inside with us. They were worried their dancing wouldn't be up to par but they were doing just fine.

Everyone took their places for the next dance set. I nearly died with laughter when I realized the first strings of a waltz were about to begin. I raised an eyebrow to question Laxus' skills. The only person who's ever really seen him dance was his wife. But I knew we had nothing to worry about when he took the traditional stance and started to bow. The music was a gorgeous melody of violins. We flowed through the movements until the song came to an end. We twirled around for one more song before he returned me to the table.

As we returned to the table, I thanked Laxus for our dances, and I gave Mirajane a hug for letting me borrow my "big brother."

I was about to sit down when a fast song came on. I was lightly tapping my foot to the beat. Sting picked up my little quirk, and he hid a smile. Without even asking, Sting left Rogue to take my hand. He eagerly pulled me toward the dance floor. His eyes radiated laughter, happiness, and something else.

We twirled. We dipped. We tangoed. Sting was a marvelous dancer. Finally, a slow song began to play. He pulled me closer. I could tell he sniffed my hair, and I held back a little giggle. Sting had that effect on me. Happiness and joy were missing from my life for a few years that I almost forgot how it felt.

Sting and I were swaying to the sound of the music. We moved towards the columns to have a little more room to dance and some privacy. Suddenly, we were interrupted by a cough. I turned around to see who we were disturbing, but all I saw was a shadow. Then, I caught a sight of red eyes and long black hair. Before I could warn Sting, he was lying on the floor knocked out. I looked on in horror as Gajeel grabbed my arm and started pulling me to a hidden doorway.

"Why were you with him, Levy?" He growled at me.

"It's called a date, Gajeel! Maybe you should try it sometime!" I replied with venom in my voice. Tonight had be one of the best nights of my life until he arrived.

"I went on plenty dates with you, shrimp. We are going to have dates again once I get rid of that punk."

Fear filled my core. He couldn't hurt Sting. I tried to brace my feet to slow him down, but that only made me become tangled in my dress. I fell face first into the dirt. Gajeel just dusted me off and tucked me under his arm. I started to let out a scream until he said, "Don't do it, Levy. I only want to talk without Sting's interference, but you are not making this easy for me." He said softly.

"Couldn't you have just asked to talk to me?" I asked slightly defeated because there was no way I was getting free of him until be put me down.

"You were always with him. How could I?" He said in a gruff voice.

"Gajeel, I have been by myself in a library the whole week except for this weekend. You could have talked to me then! You could have even called me!"

"This is a face to face conversation shrimp." He stated almost like he had no other choice. What could be so important to have a face to face conversation given the fact that he didn't like to talk anyway?

I had enough of his bull. He had the gall to kidnap me to talk of all things. "You do realize that you will have 3 very pissed off dragon slayers coming after you soon? They may understand your black moods. But if you hurt me, you won't survive." I was glaring at him from under his arm.

"We're just going to talk, Levy. I promise. I never want to hurt you." He said calmly, but I could tell there was a hint of annoyance in his voice. Gajeel must have meant what he said though because he never uses my real name unless it's important.

"Will you put me down if I promise not to run or scream?"

"I will, but you have to walk side by side with me. If you make a mad dash for it, I will put you back under my arms and tie you up when we get to the roof." Gajeel released a ragged breath. I released a huff and stuck my tongue out at him. Yes, I know I was so mature. Can you really blame me though?

"Really, shrimp? You're going to stick your tongue out at me?" He laughed as he placed me on the ground, but I surprised him. I threw a couple of punches at the iron dragon, which caused him to release a booming laughter.

"Do not laugh at me. I will not be patronized by you." I yelled at him. He kept blocking my punches. For some reason, he was trying to keep me from hurting myself as I steadily punched at him.

"Levy, stop. You are just going to hurt yourself. What is so hard about follow my instructions, or I will hide you where the light dragon can never go."

Finally, I gave up in defeat. "Why are you doing this to me?" I pleaded hoping for an answer.

"You'll see when we get to the roof. There is something you need to see. Lily is waiting for us on the roof."

He wrapped his hand around my wrist as we remained silent the rest of the way to the roof. Lily stood there waiting for us just like he said. It made me feel better that we would have a third party person with us. Being alone with Gajeel terrified me right now.

 **Thank you for reading! I was asked to do another one shot so there is a second chapter to Guys Day Out! It takes around the middle and latter part of Chapter 7! Hopefully I'll have my next chapter for this story out in the next two days.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own the plotline.**


	10. Roof Top Tension

Lily stood there waiting for Gajeel and I on the roof. Relief flowed threw me because Gajeel hasn't lost his mind completely if Lily was actually here. I noticed that Lily had something tucked up under his arms. Then it hit me. He had the second book everyone has been talking about! Why would Gajeel bring me up here to read the book? I watched as he snatched the book from Lily with a grim look on his face.

"What's going on?" I asked shifting glances from the exceed to the iron dragon slayer.

"Just read the book, shrimp." Gajeel growled at me a he shoved the book into my hands. His rude manner was a shock to my system. Lily threw danger like glares his way, but he left Gajeel to his own devices. Suddenly, I felt something being placed on my head. "Here's you a new pair of gale-force glasses. Read the book, and tell me what you think, shorty. The book is more than just about dragon slayers now. This is about you now if I am right." A look of sympathy slipped through his tough exterior for a minute then his stony expression was back in place.

Hmm… A mystery. I wonder if this has anything to do with the possessiveness of dragon slayers since that has been a theme for tonight. But how would I fit in other than being a possible mate. What more could be hidden in the book?

"What do you expect me to find, Gajeel?" I asked curiously. I never could turn down a mystery, and this was one of epic portions if my instincts were correct.

"I only can understand some of it, but it's better for you to read the book. You'll see a very familiar picture. Besides, I've had these super charged emotions lately – almost like something is awaking from within. You could tell me why I feel this way."

"Don't get me wrong, I will help you. I can't help but feel this kidnapping is all because I was with Sting? You could have simply asked me anytime last week." I asked suspiciously.

"Yes… No… I don't know, shrimp. I only know that you have to find the picture in the book. You'll know the picture when you see it."

I rolled my eyes at him. He wasn't going to be anymore use until I had the answers he wanted. "Fine, but I have conditions. Do not disturb me. Do not read over my shoulder. Refrain from killing or hurting anyone who walks out of that door for me."

"Since when did you get so bossy?" He said with a laugh.

If I didn't feel slightly sorry for him, I would have taken the book and left. Instead, I sat in with a huff the roof. At least I would be comfortable when I read this.

After thirty minutes of reading, I could hear a commotion coming up the stairs. I knew who it was. I knew what they wanted. I knew I needed some time to think. If everything I read was true, then where did that leave me? Was my fate sealed from the beginning?

Before the cavalry arrived, I silently thanked Freed's intense training as I placed a Dark Ecriture wing spell on my back while I created a Dark Ecriture version of myself to relay a message. I concealed my magic as I flew up to the top of the trees to watch the scene unfold.

Two minutes after I landed, three menacing figures burst through the roof top door. They were followed by four ladies and two other men. None of them looked happy with what transpired. Honestly, I didn't blame them one bit, especially Sting. He looked like he was about to murder Gajeel. Laxus was right behind Sting, but he froze for a moment. I held my breath as I noticed him search the area, but he could not find the source. Damn! He recognized my magic this quickly? Looks like Freed and I were going to have a very long conversation…

In a flash, Laxus and Sting slammed Gajeel into the ground. He didn't put up a fight, which caused the dragon slayers to pause.

"Where is Levy?" Sting growled. Natsu walked slowly up the men causing fire balls to glow in his hands.

"She left." He stated simply. Gajeel was ignoring the crushed feeling on his chest.

"Did you do anything to her?" Natsu asked. "We figured that you were the reason for Sting's goose egg on his head!"

"Do you realize you could have killed him?" Laxus yelled. "He is the master of Sabertooth! The magic council could have you arrested and tried for this!"

"That's not any of your styles. Besides, you'll beat me to a bloody pulp before you turn me over to them." Gajeel said with a smirk. "Although, it wouldn't be fair fight because I promised Levy that I wouldn't kill or hurt you. I respect her enough to follow her request."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sting shouted while Natsu and Laxus shared confused looks. The rest of the group stayed back in awe of the scene unfolding before them. Why would Levy just leave?

Finally, Lucy was the first to speak as she approached the groups. "Get off of him and let Gajeel explain what's going on!" The men moving too slowly so she yelled some more. "Right now! Before I have Virgo come out and punish you!"

All the men looked at her like she was crazy, but they still followed her orders. "Thanks, bunny girl." Gajeel said.

The group just starred at Gajeel. "Well are you going to explain why you kidnapped, Levy?"

"She needed to know about the second book."

"Levy knew about the second book! She had both of them in the library with her!" Sting shouted. "Why do you think we hired her as a joint effort? She's the only one who can read the writing!"

"Oi, light boy! Tone down your yelling. I'm not deaf!" Gajeel balled his hand into a fist, then he counted till ten to release it. "When I was young, Metallica read part of that book to me. I wasn't sure the book was the same until I went into the library two days ago and saw it for myself. She was in the book – literally."

Everyone started at him in fascination and annoyance because he stopped talking. Sting and Laxus growled at the same time, "What do you mean she was literally in the book?"

"None of you know? You couldn't feel the power radiating off her now? Her power has grown ten times as powerful in the last week."

The whole crowd looked puzzled at Gajeel's declaration. Mirajane nodded at his comment. "I noticed some unexplained power recently, but I thought that was the baby so I didn't think twice."

"Well, who could blame you when the parents are a demon and a dragon slayer." Wendy stated. She looked at Gajeel, and everything finally clicked. She remembered a blue haired priestess from long ago. "She couldn't be her, could she?"

A smirk made a way to Gajeel's face. The other dragon slayers expect for Natsu seemed to be confused. "That girl died Gajeel!" Wendy exclaimed.

"She died. She comes back every 200 years. She always has two powerful dragon slayers as guardians; yet, she only chooses one as a mate. These dragon slayers can be any generation so that explains the previous ones 200 years ago. But they always live in seclusion, and they hide from the public because of their power – her power."

"Does she know your theory then?" Sting asked skeptically.

"It's not a theory, punk. It's the truth. She read the book. She saw the outcome. Why do you think she's not here? She's freaked out." Gajeeled replied with venom in his voice. He may have to play nice with Sting, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Sting looked thoughtful for a minute. "Rogue and I were talking about an usual power tonight, but I didn't want to worry Levy. I thought the extra power was from you. I never assumed that it could be coming from her."

"You shouldn't have let your guard down, or you could have been here earlier."

Sting started to lunge at Gajeel, but Natsu stopped him. "Thanks, flame brain! I would hate to hurt him with her watching." Gajeel replied coldly. "Since we are all here, why don't I let her explain it to you herself? Well sort of… Anyway, Levy please speak." Gajeel said calmly.

I was proud of him. _Thank you for keeping your word, Gajeel._

 **Sorry for the longer time updates in-between chapters! My goal is definitely one or more a week! I promise to finish the story up and not leave everyone hanging! Just to let y'all know, I added another chapter last Friday to Guys' Day Out as a request. As always thanks for reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**


	11. An Unexpected History

**Thank you to the wonderful people who've been following my story and those that left review! Y'all are awesome!**

I went and found a hidden spot by the river as my shadowself explained the long complicated tale of my past. How were you supposed to react when you found out you're a reincarnated priestess who appears every 200 years? Your life's work of specifically guiding dragon slayers and their offspring. Can you imagine me guiding them? Sure Laxus and Natsu really weren't a problem because they sought my advice on a normal occurrence, but what about the others? Would they respect me? Could I gain their trust enough to become a leader for them?

The war raging within wore me down mentally and physically. Before too much longer, I started to feel my eyelids become heavy. The sound of the river, the seclusion of the woods, the frogs singing in the background lulled me to sleep.

 _A lone soldier came running to his captain's quarters. "Sir! We have found her. The priestess has been born! She matches the dragon's description - blue haired and a dragon scale the birthmark on the bottom of her foot." The out of breath soldier exclaimed excitedly. They had been waiting many days for her birth._

 _"_ _Bring her to the castle, Kaien! We must protect her at all cost!" The captain yelled as he jumped out of his seat._

 _Kaien stood there hesitantly more a minute. "Sir, I do not mean to over step my boundaries, but wouldn't that draw attention to the priestess and her family?"_

 _The captain thought about his subordinate's words of wisdom. "You're right, Kaien. Send our best women soldiers disguised as the mother's friends. The enemy will be expecting the baby to be on the move. Good job, soldier."_

 _"_ _Yes, Sir!"_

 _Kaien ran to the ladies' division. He met a battle weary red head. She smiled as he approached. "What brings you here, husband?"_

 _"_ _Nothing as grand as you're thinking." He replied with a wink. "But in all seriousness, the captain would like you to lead the ladies to Stella McKinnon's house. She gave birth to the girl that we have been seeking."_

 _His words caused his lovely wife to come to attention. "Does she know about the child's fate?"_

 _"_ _Of course. She was the one who sent for the guards. Stella wants to protect her daughter. This country will need guidance."_

 _"_ _You're right. But we can only try our best to protect her with the amount of dark mages after them. You and I both know that the only ones who can save her are the dragon slayers."_

 _"_ _She can't escape her fate, Lilith. This little child will be the future. Her two guardians are already picked out for her. They are stationed near the house."_

 _"_ _What if the dragons and the dark mages prevail? She will die before any of this comes to pass. What then, Kaien?"_

 _"_ _All she has to do is make it two more days till the Summer Solstice. Once the ceremony is complete, she will be reborn every two hundred years from this day forth. This child, which ever time line that she is in, will unite the dragon slayers. She will teach them of their past, and she will be the reason that they unlock their true powers."_

 _"_ _True powers?" Lilith asked._

 _"_ _I can't tell you anymore, my love. Please hurry to our new hope. This little girl deserves the best chance we can give her."_

I woke with a start. Sweat drenched my body as my brain tried to process what it saw. "Was that a dream or a memory?" I asked myself out loud.

"You were dreaming, but the memories will return now that you know who you are."

I turned around to see who spoke, but I couldn't detect any form of magic.

"Who are you?" I shouted to the surrounding darkness.

"I am you. You are me. We are one, Levy McGarden." A shadowy figure emerged into the moonlight. She was beautiful. Her skin simmered as the moonlight danced across its clear surface. The figure was almost transparent except for the ghostly glow.

Frown lines formed on my face. Maybe I was still dreaming after all. "No. You are not dreaming. You are just facing yourself."

"Myself?" Confusion played across my face as the girl continued.

"I am your first life, Levy. My name is Helga McKinnon." My jaw dropped. "Come now, child. You wouldn't want to catch flies in your mouth."

I rolled my eyes at Helga's comment. "Why are you here?"

"To guide you, but I've already known you've suspected that answer." My eyes searched her form for more clues; yet, I could find nothing but the shimmering gleams of moonlight.

"Since you're past me, what does it mean to be the priestess?"

"You're taking this more calmly than I thought you would. You're second life had a cow." Helga said laughing.

"I'll always have dragon slayers in my life. Why not add one more thing to the list?" I asked sarcastically.

"You'll do well, Levy. Do not fret. A priestess is required to teach them their forgotten past, and you can help them unlock a new power. With this responsiblity comes new power for yourself. In the next few months, your powers will increase tenfold. Once this occurs, you will be forced to chose one of your guardians."

I froze at her last comment. Taking a big breath, I asked the question that I dreaded to know the answer too. "Did any of the them know?" I asked devoid of any emotion. I wasn't sure if I could handle the answer. A yes would mean everything I felt for Sting was a lie. A no would kindle hope; yet, who was the other choice? Why was choosing one or the other so important?

"You mean, did a specific light dragon slayer know the truth?" Helga asked as she quirked her eyebrow at me. I gave her a death glare. Really what could you do to a ghost? Helga was smirking as she held in laughter at my determination to know the truth.

"Yes. Did he know my complicated history before I took the job?" I asked breathlessly.

"No." A simple word caused so much tension to release. At least I knew that his feelings were real.

But my peace didn't stay for too long. "With this being said, he is one of your chosen guardians. I am assuming you can guess who the other is?" She said with a knowing smile.

I whispered, "Gajeel?"

"Yes, the iron dragon slayer who can merge with the shadows. Your life will be filled with light and darkness, such as it been for the past four hundred years. The first time in our cycle, I chose my dragon slayer representing light. Our next life chose the dark. Which one will you choose, Levy?" With her haunting words, Helga disappeared into the night leaving me with more questions than answers.

 **Thank you for reading! I hope y'all are enjoying the story! It will be finished up shortly. The story kind of became longer than I expected, but that's how writing goes sometimes!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.**


	12. A New Hope

For three days, I avoided anyone who had ties to the dragon slayers or Fairy Tail. I couldn't even find it in my heart to talk to my best friend about the shocking revelation of my past lives. But I should have known that I couldn't hide forever. This forest was only so big, and the dragon slayers had nearly perfects senses.

My camp was located near another river to hide my scent, but it was no use. When I came back from gathering firewood, I found two very upset dragon slayers waiting on me. _Damn their tracking skills!_ I wish I could say that it was Natsu and Laxus, but I would be lying. The sight that awaited me was Sting sitting on a log reading one of my many books that I brought with me on this camping trip and Gajeel was laying out on the other side of the grass munching on scrap pieces of iron.

The men were peaceful for the time being, but that was broken as soon as I stepped on a twig. Both men looked up to stare at me their best "why the hell did you leave me" glaze. I could have handled one of them, but both were a different story. I was terrified I would melt under the pressure of their glaze or pass out. I was leaning more toward passing out because it's kind of hard to yell at an unconscious body. Right?

With shaky breaths, I lightly tossed down the firewood. "Hi!" I said in a high pitched voice. I knew the scolding was coming, and I was bracing myself for the whiplash from it.

"Levy, Levy, Levy." Sting said as he closed the book and rose from his spot. A smile lit up his face as he slowly approached me. I threw a glance at Gajeel, who continued to ignore me and eat his iron. His attitude was fine with me. If I only had to deal with Sting's "wrath", then today will be an easy day. Gajeel was the main dragon slayer's wrath I feared.

"Sting, I can explain…" I started before he silenced me with a kiss. As shocked as I was, I responded to his kiss full force. I didn't care if Gajeel was laying ten feet over to the right munching on his iron. All I could feel was Sting's arms around my waist and all his feelings of worry and relief poured into the kiss. How could I not respond passionately in return? This was Sting - the man I once feared, the brave, fearless leader of Sabtertooth, and finally the man who returned the light to my darkened world.

He finally broke away the kiss leaving us breathless. Sting cupped my face with his hands and starred directly into my eyes. "Levy, you have to promise never to run off like that again! You worried us, cupcake! We could have helped you if you would have talked to us or at least let us keep you safe!" Sting's grip released my face only to run his hands up and down my arms.

"Sting, I am fine! You can see for yourself that I am in once piece." Once he was satisfied that I was telling the truth, he pulled me into a large hug before placing a kiss on my forehead.

"We were both worried. We've been searching you for days until I realized how stupid we have been. Your friends may know you well, but I've read enough of your books to know that the forest is the last place you'd travel through by yourself. It secretly terrifies you judging by your journal entries."

"What the hell? You read my journal without my permission?" I yelled. Steam emerged from my ears as Sting simply smiled. "I only read the ones that mentioned books, Levy. Don't look at me like I just killed a puppy! I promise that Gajeel didn't read anything if that makes you feel better."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to kill him, be thankful that he found me, or just hide under a rock because some of those entries were about him. Sting kept talking, but I wasn't listening. Red clouded my vision for the time being until I released some pent up magic on the ground. Finally, I caught the last little bit of his explanation.

"Logically, the forest would be the last place you'd hide since you hate it so much!"

With a deep sigh, I replied. "I don't hate the forest. I just have a severe dislike of creepy, crawly things that reside in it; hence, the campfire and magical warding." I knew I wouldn't win an argument with him when I knew he was right.

"The wards didn't keep us out, Levy. Were you not concentrating enough when " St

"I wasn't warding against friends. My wards were for people who intended harm and animals."

"How did you know pick these woods then, mister-know-it-all?"

"Laxus, Lucy, Natsu… Take your pick! Besides our friends said these woods are haunted. You'd choose the forest that no one would expect to find you in." I could hear Gajeel growl in response to Sting's answer. "Oh yes. And Gajeel over there helped too! We figured you would hide by a stream to mask your scent since you understand a dragon slayer's tracking methods."

Gajeel gracefully rose from his napping position. To emphasis Sting's point, he stated, "Shrimp, there are three things you can't hide from in life. Me, pretty boy over there, and fate." He walked over to place a gentle kiss on my cheek. This was so out of character for him. "I don't care who you chose, but we need to know because people have already started to come after you."

Sting nodded at Gajeel's statement. "While you were gone, four assassins have been dealt with and given to the Magic Council. Even Jellal has put feelers out to help keep you safe. This is not going to be easy, but I do agree with Gajeel. We need to know who you choose."

The men looked at each other for a moment. "We both love you, Levy. Whoever you chose will respect your decision and will not pursue you unless something happens to the other. Will this work for you?"

Then I knew I had my answer because I saw his soul shine and mirror the woman I grew to become. I'm not just the shy, little bookworm anymore. I am Levy McGarden, Dragon Slayer Priestess, former Magic Council member, badass Solid Script Mage who has mastered multiple incantation style magics, and a mighty woman – hear me roar world!

Light filtered through my curtains as I snuggled deeper into the covers. I could hear my chosen guardian moving around in my kitchen, and the smell of bacon drifted into the air. His magic pulsed through the area as I hid my smile deeper into my pillow. He was trying to see if I was awake.

"Hey, cupcake! Time to get up!" Sting said as he came into my room and sat on the bed. "I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast." He leaned over to press a kiss to my forehead right before he felt to finish cooking.

 _My heart was full. Yes, I know what you are thinking at this moment, and some of you may even be freaking out. I don't blame you. Honestly, I was thinking that myself a few days ago until our unlikely trio's heart to heart. I can hear a few of you yelling why not Gajeel. Why did you choose Sting when you've recently become better acquainted with him? The answer was simple. Sting's heart and internal strength was exactly what I was lacking in mine. He was the man that made me strive to be better and to become stronger. He was the light in my dark world!_

 _On the other hand, Gajeel was the reason for my darkness originally. But after our campfire discussion, the men helped me see things from their point of view. In my heart, Gajeel will always hold a special place because he was my first love, but Sting will be my last. Never fear! I have a grand plan for Gajeel! I want to drive his darkness away so he can find the happiness that I have now._ _But to succeed in my plans, I needed to get out of my bed and eat breakfast. Taking over someone's world required energy_!

My emotions bubbled up and threatened to spill over as I bounced on to the bar stool as Sting dished out breakfast. I couldn't help but drool a little when I noticed he wasn't wearing a short. He was stand barefoot in grey sweat pants on the other side of the bar. But Sting wasn't he only thing that made my mouth water. The food was divine! I smiled shyly at him as I inhaled the food. I was thankful that he stayed over after he and Gajeel brought me home yesterday. "Sting, I want to do something for wonderful for Gajeel. Although, I don't want to step on your toes since this is so new."

"I'm sure he would appreciate anything that you do for him. Would you like me to call Lily for you? I can tell by that grin on your face that you have something grand in store."

"You are sure taking all this better than expected." I replied with a raised eyebrow.

"One, your large, caring heart is what I love the most about you so I will help you in any endeavored that you set your mind too. Two, I know that I have to share you with him. He is your other guardian. It would be rude to exclude him even if we don't see eye to eye a lot." Sting replied as he stuffed his face full of pancake.

I ran to hug Sting. His answer caused tears to form in my eyes. I felt like a little girl again with my giggling and heart overflowing with joy. As I finished eating, Sting called Panther Lily to come over. I couldn't wait to tell him about my plans for Gajeel! I knew that I slightly hurt him with my decision, but he knew I made the best decision for me. So I wanted to give him his own light for his darkness.

Inwardly, I knew my plan was a long shot, but I always had Freed on speed dial for this to work. As we waited for Lily, I gathered all the books that I needed to explain my plan. I also sent Sting down to the store across the street to get a few kiwi juices for Lily. Today was going to be a long one.

Thirty minutes later, we heard three knocks followed by a pause then a single knock on the door. "Lily!" I shouted as I pulled the door open wide. Sting was behind me in a heartbeat. He lifted me up and placed me behind him as he let Lily into the apartment. I watched as Sting stepped out into the hallway to see if he could sense another presence. He and Gajeel had become even more overprotective since the emergence of assassins earlier this week.

I shook my head as I lead Lily into the living room. Beaming my killer smile at him, I sat down next to Lily with my calculations and overall game plan on a few sheets of paper. "Thanks for coming, Lily." I said with a blush. Inwardly, I hope he didn't hate the idea that I was about to propose to him.

He placed a big paw on my hand. "Levy, don't be so bashful. I've heard you've blossomed since you moved on from Gajeel. I can see that everyone was right. You have a stronger spirit about you." He threw a glance at Sting and growled a little under his breath. "But I can see why. He treats you like a treasure."

"Well, I wanted you to help me do something for my other guardian since I'm pretty sure Gajeel filled you in on everything going on."

"It's kind of hard not to be filled in with him, Laxus, and Natsu running around the guild sprouting orders." A grin spread across his face as I was trying to hold in my laughter.

"Yeah, I'm sorry that they are taking it a little to the extremes, but I'm glad you can find some humor in this!" I stated as a full smile blossomed on my face.

"Levy, everyone likes you at the guild. It's only natural that your friends gather around to protect you, even if you think the dragon slayers are going a little over board. Can you blame them though? You're a reincarnated priestess who holds secrets to their past. Oh course they are going to protect you at any cost."

A dark blush crept up my cheeks. "Speaking of friends…" I regained some of my composer. "I had a plan that I need your help to finalize a plan for me." I waited for Lily to nod his head before I continued. "So this plan of on mine basically all hinges on your cooperation."

"You should know that I will help you anyway that I can, especially if it involves Gajeel."

"Good. So the first part of my plan is for you to steal the old book Metallica used to read Gajeel when he was younger. Since the book was basically Metallica's story, I figured that I could make him come to life."

"You can make a book come to life?" Lilly asked in shock.

"My goal is to combined three magics: Dark Ecriture, Pict Magic, and some odd Script Magic to make the book come alive and to stay that way. If my plan works, Gajeel should be able to see Metallica whenever he wanted too."

"If you could pull this off…" Lily became a little tear eyed for a minute as he thought about his best friend's ultimate happiness. Shortly, he regained his composer. "He would love you till the ends of the earth if you could do that for him."

"He needs to find his inner light, and I think my project is best bet for his happiness."

I threw a glance over at Sting who was sitting in a chair listening to us today. "All the dragon slayers were deeply affected by their adoptive parents' deaths. I wish I could help all of them, but most of them have found a new light in their life except for Gajeel. As a coincidence, he is also the only one who had a book about Metallica."

Sting nodded at my statement. He agreed that all the dragon slayers were happy except for Gajeel. "Levy's plan should work not only because she is brilliant, but because her powers have already increased. She is past a guild master's magic at this point, and she's only going to get stronger. Her enchantment on the book should hold for years."

Lily turned to me, "So when do you want to do this?"

"From what Mira has said, a mysterious job just arrived at the build hall, and she thinks Laxus and Gajeel need to go on a trip together. Before you panic, the trip is like 4 days, and Wendy will be going with them to minimize their motion sickness."

"So all I have to do is sneak in after he leaves, grab the book, and bring it back to you?"

"Yep. Easy as pie! I would do it myself, but my scent would linger in the air. He would then question me about being in his apartment, and I don't think that would go over so well with Mr. Sabertooth." I said as I pointed my thumb at Sting who was semi-glaring at me for the moment. I sent him a wink to let him know that I was playing. He shook his head at me, but he didn't say a word. "Once I have the book, I will cast the enchantment. I am still working out how I want to give him the book, but your work will be done unless I have you stick it back into the apartment."

"Everything sounds reasonable then." Lily stated. Sting silently agreed with him.

"Then let's set the plan it motion!" I said enthusiastically. There is nothing better than a perfect plan, except for completely it to a T of course!

 **Hey y'all! Sorry for the long awaited update! I was sick and then I had writers block plus work! I hope you enjoy the update. I have one more chapter, and the story should be finished. I want to apologize for a little OOC going on. Thanks for sticking with the story!**


	13. The Magic Book

**Finally Chapter! Thank you for sticking with me till the end. Sorry it took so long, but writer's block is sometimes hard to overcome. I finally had to look myself in a room to get this complete. I hope you enjoyed the story!**

The next morning, Lily brought me Gajeel's book. He was kind enough to drop in by the apartment and left as quickly as he came. I kicked Sting out of the apartment before I began to draw the enchantments. He was warned on pain of death not to let anyone enter my apartment until I am ready.

As my dragon took his place guarding the door, I began to etch old ruins into the floor. Crystals were placed around my first circle to strengthen the enchantment. Once the basic animation spell was layered, then I proceeded to use Dark Ecriture and Pict Magic to bring all the creations in the book to life. Gajeel could literally walk through the story with Metallica or just have a small version of Metallica appear even though his vocabulary is limited. Before I placed the tenth spell over the book to hold everything together, I placed numerous crystals on the book in the circle to give the magic a boost. If I did this, then the magic of the book will never leave according to Freed.

I waited three hours before I finished casting the last spell. "Sting, you can enter now."

"Finished already?" He asked with his normal smile on his lips.

"Yes. Everything should work. If everything goes as planned, Lilly can return this to the apartment later today or tomorrow."

Just as I was about to sit down to nap on the couch, a panicked Lily came barreling through the door. "He's back! And he's mad as hell."

"Did he kill Laxus then?" I asked from the couch. I wasn't sure if I could hand;e Gajeel killing my "brother".

"No. Mira went into labor, and Gajeel came back to get me to fill in for Laxus. Unfortunately, he also came for his book, which is here instead of its hiding spot under Gajeel's bed."

"Well, where is Gajeel, Lily?" I asked semi-frantically as I sprung off the couch.

"I'm right here, shorty." Gajeel said from the door way as he slowly walked into my apartment.

"Gajeel…" I looked at him terrified, which did not sit well with Sting. He was by my side in an instant but Gajeel just sneered.

"So what do I hear about you having my book?" He asked calmly. But a small vein ticked at the top of his head. He wasn't as calm as he wanted everyone to believe.

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but what the heck," I said in exhaustion. "I guess giving this to you now will have to do."

He watched me as I walked over to retrieve the book from under the stack of crystals. "What did you do to my book, shrimp?"

"I made it come to life." Gajeel stared at me while Sting and Lily waited quietly on the couch. Sting was less tense as he watched Gajeel's posture relax.

"How?" He asked amazed.

"Well, I layered three types of magic in ten circles amplified by crystals plus my own new powers strengthened the bonds of the spell." I rambled off. Overall, that was the simplest explanation.

"Why?" He eyed me with wonder.

"What is it with you and these one question words?" I teased him as a smirk graced my lips. He just glared at me. "Fine. I wanted to do something special for you. I knew you are still having issues moving on from your father's death. The best way for me to fix that was to create a Metallica that you could see and talk to. You can also relive your story and walk with him."

I handed him the book. "All you have to do is read the book's title, and he should come to life. And if he should ever stop working, I can recast the spells and place stronger bindings on the book. I know how much he meant to you."

Gajeel was shell shocked. The shrimp did all this for him. Even when he had been grumpy and semi-kidnapped her, she still helped him. His heart swelled with love and pride that he was one of her guardians. She was something special.

"Levy…" He said my name almost like a prayer. Then I was swallowed up in a hug. I could feel light tears on my shoulders as I hugged Gajeel around his neck. I wanted to laugh because I couldn't even touch the floor, but I stayed silent. He needed this.

"Thank you." Gajeel said after finally sat me down. "I think I'll go home now."

Gajeel looked over at Sting. "Take care of her, and call me if you need help, brother."

Sting looked taken back by Gajeel's term, but then he understood. The men finally have accepted each other fully. They will guard their little priestess without squabbles and fight as a team. "I will, brother. Be safe."

Levy and Sting watched Gajeel leave with Lily. "Do you think he'll be okay?" Sting asked as he broke the silence.

"He'll be fine now. Thank you for your help, Sting."

He pulled her closer and gave her a kiss the top of her head. "Anything for my bookworm."

Gajeel and Lilly arrived at their apartment. He was still in awe of Levy's power and kindness. She actually did this so he could move on. Gajeel moved to his bed before he opened the book while Lily raided the kitchen for food and kiwi juice.

Sitting on the bed, Gajeel whispered "The Metal Walk of Life". Suddenly, the book popped open, and a three-foot version of Metallic appeared on his lap.

"What would you like to discuss, son?" The little Metallic asked. The dragon sounded just like the real version. Tears started to fall from his eyes"Dad, I miss you…" Gajeel said as he talked to the dragon his missed with all his heart.

 **Yes, they had OCCness, but what better to way to end than everyone being friends. Thanks y'all!**


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue

Five years later, a blue haired little girl ran around her father. She inherited his dragon slayer magic, but she was protected because of my genes. A little blonde headed boy sat on the lap of his scary looking uncle. While a pretty white haired lady hugged him around his neck. Gajeel and Rikua's children were dragon slayers as well, but they were just infants. The happy couple met shortly after I gave him his book, which did wonders for him. Now, everyone was at peace.

I admired my view of our little unique family from the doorway as I thought about the last five years. We may have left our guilds for short visits around the world, but we were never far from them in heart. Fairy Tail will be my home no matter where we go. But it was a necessity to leave. To many guild members were getting hurt, and the evil men finally came for me in full force.

I know you are asking why did I leave when I could have 6 dragon slayers protecting me. We left for our family – for their families. But fret not. We plan to return shortly. It's time for the little ones to start learning about their heritage and magic.

Laxus has already arranged for class for the baby dragon slayers and some for the adults too. This is what I was meant to do, and no one will stop me from my duty. I smiled. Soon we shall be home again.

 **Thanks Again for Reading! I hope you enjoyed it!**


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